Canadian Paramedics can breathe a sigh of relief, unbuckle their corset belts and cancel their chiropractor's appointments - if they work in Calgary, that is. The city has taken delivery of an ambulance designed to get its obese citizens to hospital with as little stress and strain as possible - provided they don't tip the scales at more than 1000 lbs.

The refit, which costs more than $30,000 per vehicle, includes a specially designed air mattress that inflates beneath the patient to transfer him to the stretcher (reinforced and widened, natch) and a remote lift system that raises the stretcher into the ambulance.

Someone who may be cheering the arrival of Canada's ambulance for fatties is Calgary resident Chad Campbell. He described it as "a step in the right direction." However, it was not known how the four firemen and two paramedics that were previously needed to transport the 560-lb Mr Campbell to his hospital appointments had celebrated the news.